


Your voice, like a melody

by Vault_Emblem



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Soen no Kiseki/Akatsuki no Megami | Fire Emblem Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn
Genre: Bittersweet, Emotionally Repressed, F/M, Hopeful Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Nagamas 2020, Post-Canon, Pre-Relationship, Singing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:29:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28318245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vault_Emblem/pseuds/Vault_Emblem
Summary: Naesala listens to Leanne singing.
Relationships: Leanne/Naesala (Fire Emblem)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 13
Collections: Nagamas Gifts





	Your voice, like a melody

**Author's Note:**

  * For [royaltyjunk](https://archiveofourown.org/users/royaltyjunk/gifts).



> Happy Nagamas!  
> It felt good going back to write Naesala, I missed him so much...

Not even in his wildest dreams Naesala ever thought that he could experience this again, but here he is, hearing Leanne sing in the same place in the Forest where they liked to hide in when they wanted some time alone so many decades ago. It used to be such a challenge back then, having to fly high enough to get to the best tree branches that would serve to hide them from the rest of the world, but now they do so with ease.

Usually Reyson would come with them and they would spend the great part of the day playing, singing, dancing, or just enjoying each other’s company, but those days are long gone now. Naesala wonders if he even remembers this place at all…

Well, it doesn’t matter now, because even if he did, he certainly wouldn’t agree to visit it with him. Those days are long gone.

He tries not to think about that, and instead focuses on the view in front of him: Leanne has always looked radiant, but there’s something about the way she sings that emphasizes this aspect of her even more. Naesala knows that this is because of the magic each heron’s voice possesses, but he feels this way only about her.

It must be the way her candid dress stands out from the green of the forest, how her eyes shine in the sun, maybe it’s because of the joy in her gaze…

Leanne has always been fond of singing, but since the end of the war, since the defeat of the Goddess herself, she does it even more than she already did before, to the point that she barely speaks anymore and rather she chants the words she wants to express. She’s a reflection of the state of the world, of the age of peace and prosperity they’re - hopefully - all going to live through.

He wonders if he’s the only one that feels like this when he looks at her. No, the others must see it too, it can’t be just him. Still, he knows that he’s completely enamored with her, which brings its fair share of problems: not only Leanne’s species is in danger of extinction, so she’ll need to choose her mate carefully, but also even if she chose him, nobody would ever approve of their union. Not that Leanne hasn’t made her intentions clear, but Naesala himself has always been the first one to push her away, or at least try to, because as much as he knows that it would be better for both of them if they don’t ever see each other again, whenever Leanne requests his company he can’t help but to indulge her.

That little minx, she knows what she’s doing…

Oh well, Naesala thinks everyone knows that he’d never say no to her, so it’s not like this is news to anybody.

Besides, he can’t help but to be proud of her. Manipulation tactics hardly suit her, but it’s better to know how to use them than falling prey to them, so he supposes he can’t complain - he quite likes it actually.

He gets distracted when he feels something brush against his ear, making it twitch - and with it Naesala too. He looks up where Leanne is - she always chooses the highest branches so that she can be taller than any of them.

At those movements, she quickly retracts her hand, observing him with worry in those big eyes of hers.

“Is something wrong?” she asks in ancient language.

“I’m fine,” Naesala replies in current tongue. It’s been so long since he last spoke in ancient that he doesn’t feel confident enough with it anymore; he understands it just fine, speaking it is the problem. Isn’t that a shame? A piece of their culture lost. Oh well, he supposes that there are worse things out there than this.

Leanne looks about to speak again, definitely to tell him to be honest - he doesn’t need to be a heron to read her intentions - so he cuts her off before she can do that.

“Really, Leanne, everything’s good,” he says, forcing a smile her way, “I was just enjoying your singing, it’s so delightful.”

A blush spreads through Leanne’s cheeks, and she chuckles.

“You flatterer,” she says, looking at Naesala with an amused gaze.

“For you, always,” he replies, hamming it up in the way he knows will make Leanne laugh, which she promptly does. The delivery might’ve been overdramatic, but he means every single word of it.

Leanne sends him another smile before resuming her song. All Naesala can do is to watch her, rapt once again.

Such soft and pure feelings shouldn’t belong to him, but they do. When he listens to Leanne it’s like he can forget every problem, every wrongdoing of his past; it makes him feel worthy of harboring this great affection towards her.

He doesn’t deserve it. He should be plagued by guilt, which don’t get him wrong, he is, every day of his life, but not when she sings; the guilt arrives later, because he knows he shouldn’t hold her as dear as he does.

That’s Leanne’s power, he supposes: she draws people to her, people that are all unable to resist her charm. He doesn’t think there has ever been one person who didn’t like Leanne, and if there ever was, they must’ve been a pretty horrible individual. Even he, who knows how charm works and always manages to work his way around it or to use it to his advantage, has fallen victim to her, not that he minds: if it’s just admiring her from afar, he can do that. The problem is that Leanne wants more than that, that much is clear to anybody, Naesala included.

She told him that she would wait for him to be ready, but in all honesty Naesala doubts he’ll ever be. His conscience is too heavy for all the things he’s done, there’s shouldn’t be any space for this.

He watches her and he thinks, he thinks…

He takes her hands, gently caressing her palms with his thumbs. They’re so soft, softer than his hands will ever be, and much purer; there is no blood staining them, for once. These hands never had to kill, to count money, to shake others to form wicked accords.

She giggles at his motions, looking at him with that stare full of love of hers. Naesala swears he could get lost in those green eyes and never want to come back; actually, that wouldn’t be a bad perspective at all.

He frees one hand to thread his fingers through her long hair, feeling the texture against his skin. It’s so soft, just like her.

Leanne doesn’t shy away from his touch; actually, she leans into it, closing her eyes and sighing happily when Naesala moves his hand from her hair to her face, cupping her cheek.

The kiss happens slowly, but in its simplicity, it leaves both of them breathless. Their lips barely touch each other but they both feel some sort of electricity pass through their bodies, a feeling of warmth that spreads inside both of them.

It’s all so soft at first, but Naesala, in his desperation, is selfish enough to deepen the kiss, pressing their lips together with more insistence. It’s like an ocean wave comes crashing against Leanne’s poor body, but now that he’s got a taste of it he can’t stop himself from getting _more_ , always more, until…

When Naesala comes back to reality, it feels like he’s just been slapped.

 _Ah_. He was just imagining it.

He shakes his head, blinking a few times.

For a moment he fears that Leanne might’ve sensed what happened - what if the shields he always puts up when he’s with the herons had crumbled? - or even noticed that Naesala has zoned out, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Actually, it seems like she’s made a new friend, judging by the small robin happily perched on her pointed finger. She’s smiling at the small creature, softening the tone of her voice to sing at it.

It’s a picture taken straight for one of those fables that Naesala has heard as a nestling, though he doubts those stories could ever hold a candle to this.

As she keeps singing with that melodious voice of hers, Naesala can’t help but to think about what went through his mind mere seconds ago. It felt so real, but thinking about it now it couldn’t have been: Naesala would’ve never dared to do something like that, no matter how desperate he is for it.

The fact that he’s allowed to be in her presence is already more than enough, it has to be… Has to be…

Leanne turns towards him, still smiling and radiant. Naesala can’t help but to smile back.

She suddenly moves and for a moment he’s afraid that she’s slipped from her branch, only to find out that she’s simply coming down to join him. She could’ve warned him! For a moment he was afraid that she was going to hurt herself!

He tries to put some space between them, but there isn’t much space available - it’s a miracle that the branch hasn’t fallen down already under their weight - so they’re pretty pressed together. Not that it’s bad but… Oh hell, there’s no harm in indulging in this little moment, right?

The little robin flies off; Naesala follows it with his gaze. He’s so intent on tracking it that he doesn’t notice Leanne moving closer until it’s too late: she rests her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes as if to enjoy the moment - she _is_ enjoying it, truly, but Naesala would rather she wasn’t because it would make things easier that way.

Oh well, it’s not like he can’t escape now, can’t he?

When he finally leans closer, resting his head over Leanne’s, he expects to feel the dread and the worry, the feeling that he doesn’t deserve to even be in her presence. What he doesn’t expect, however, is the wave of calm peace washing through his troubled thoughts, sweeping them away, this sense of tranquility that must come from the magic in Leanne’s voice.

Feeling this warmth spread throughout his entire being, Naesala doesn’t hesitate in the way he searches for Leanne’s hand with his own, intertwining their fingers together. Leanne squeezes and he can’t help a huffed chuckle to come out of his lips.

For once, being this close to her doesn’t make him feel sick to his stomach. Eh, he might as well enjoy it this time.

Breaking the silence, Leanne sings again.

Yes, he will.


End file.
